Wall cabinet with lighting fixture to illuminate the interior thereof and direct light downwardly therefrom



pxlI 29, 1952 Q s, MOTTER 2,594,792

WALL CABINET WITH LIGHTING FIXTURE TO ILLUMINATE THE INTERIOR l TI'IEREOF ND DIRECT LIGHT DOWNWARDLY THEREFROIVI Filed Jan. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l MLUuuUJUL April 29, 1952 Q s, MOTTER 2,594,792

WALL CABINET WITH LIGHTING FIXTURE TO ILLUMINATE THE INTERIOR THEREOF ND DIRECT LIGHT DOWNWARDLY THEREFROM Y Filed Jan. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 29, 1952 c. s. M01-TER 2,594,792

WALL. CABINET wITH LIGHTING FIXTURE To ILIUMINATE THE INTERIOR THEREoE AND DIRECT LIGHT DOWNWARDLY THEREERON Filed Jan. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 III l I ar e5 j- 0 67? Patented Apr. 29, 1952 WALL CABINET WITH LIGHTING:v FIXTURE TO ILLUMINATE THE INTERIOR THERE- F AND DIRECT LIGHT DCWNWARDLY THEREFROM Charles S. Mutter, Chicago,- Ill., assigner tov Mor-i ton Manufacturing Compa-in',` Chicago, Ill.,r a corporation ofv Illinois Application January 2, 1948', Seria-I No. 243v (CL.l 24o-4) 2.r Claims.

MyV invention relates to a wall, cabinet for use primarily in kitchens, pantries or the like and has. forV its primary object the provision of a Wall cabinet in the. bottom compartment of which cabinet an electric lighting iixture is mounted, which is so positioned that illumination of the interior of the. cabinet is provided and also illumination is' provided below the cabinet for use particularly when a cabinet is mounted above asink,A above. a-stove or over a table in a pantry or the like.

Another and' further object oi my invention is the provision of a cabinet in which a lighting fixture canbe positioned in such manner that should -it become" necessary or advisable to remove the lightingiixturefor purposes of repair or the like, the iixture can be easily and quickly removed from the. cabinet and' taken to a repair shop for Whatever repairv may be necessary Without the removal of the cabinet from the wall or attempting to repair the fixture while mounted in the cabinet.

Another'and further object of my invention is the provisionv ofA a wall cabinet having the usual bottomv and a false bottom spaced upward from the usuali bottom both of' said bottoms being secured'. firmly to the back wall along their rear sides; to the end walls at each of their ends and secured" together at their front marginal edges below the door opening thereby providing awall cabinet which is sturdy in. construction and which in eiectforms a foundation upon which the balance of. the structure is supported, each oi the said bottoms having' openings in the center thereofI` adjacent which the lighting xture is mounted and which is supported by each of the said walls and forms an integral part ci the cabinet insofar as appearance-is concerned.

Another and further object of' my inventionis the provision of; a cabinet which, if' desired, can befmade' from` the same patterns, dies, equipment and' the like without' a lighting iixture' and sold withoutA a lighting` fixtureso that two cabinets, one for-use with ay lighting xture and one without az-li'ghting fixture can be manufactured from the-same-dies, equipment and the like, thus materially reducing the cost of manufacture of the cabinet and' likewise reducing the stock of cabinets which a distributor may findA necessary to keep onhand to supply hisxtrade.

Another and further; object of my invention is the combination of' awall cabinet and a lighting fixture so mounted that the entire interior of the cabinet is lighted when desired and at the same time a: tabie:top, sink, work table, cooking range or the like is also illuminated for con-- venience of kitchen and. pantry operations conducted thereon without. intente-rencey because. of shadows or the like, and without the user depending upon other or independent sources of iight which would not provide adequate or. sufcient light,v for proper illumination for either the interior of the cabinet or: for a Work surfacebelowV the cabinet..

These and other objectsl of my invention. will be more fully and better understood by reference toA the accompanyingy sheets of. drawings; and. in which:

FigureV 1. is" a1 top elevational ViewY of a wall cabinet embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of they cabinet showing' a lighting xture installed therein;

Figure 3f is, an endv elevational view of. the' wall cabinet shownin Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is anv enlarged. detailed sectional view of the bottom' portion of the cabinet and. lighting fixture;A

Figure 5v is a: Viewv similar toFigure 4 inwhich the` lightingxture is omitted;

Figure 6 isf a top elevational view of a lighting fixture forv usey withv the cabinets. illustrated in Figures I to 3 inclusive;

Figure 7 is a front elevational View of t .e xture illustrated in Figure 6'; and

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view of' the'lighting fixture`A illustrated in Figures 6 and '7.

Referring now speciiicallyto the drawings and in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, a completen wall cabinet is shown comprising a backsection le, which at its upper edge l I is fashioned into U-shaped section and has an outwardly extending flange i2 along its lowerl edge, withl vertical extending stiiiening angles i3, t3 provided for giving rigidity to the backwall IE! and providing solid means for securing thev cabin-et against a kitchenwall, a pantry wall. or the like. A top member It is provided 'which o'verlies the U-shaped sectionl I-| of the backwall and has a ange l5 formed thereon` at its rear edgewhich is. spot Weldedl or otherwise secured to the free leg ofthe U-shaped section, whileat the iront the top member llihas a downward curved portion i5, with a bracing strip I'l being provided whichv has a flange |78 thereon which is spot weldedto the. top member Mv and which has a flange' I9y on its lowerv forward edge, which. is alst,` spot. weldedy tor the forward marginal edge of the top-member I4. Y

A sliding door runway 20 is provided along the top of4 ther door opening of. the cabinet having edge which is tted between the body of the curved portion 25 and the flange 26 and the unit spot welded together to secure the bracing member 2l in its proper position along its upper edge, and to provide rigidity to the front of the cabinet at its lower portion with a iiange 29 being provided along the lower edge of the bracingmem-` ber 25 and which lies against the inner surface of the bottom 23 and is spot welded thereto to anchor the bracing member 2`I at its inner lower i side.

The bottom 23 has a rectangular opening 3i) 'centrally located thereof .which when a lighting jxture is not used has a cover plate 3| extending thereover. The cover plate 3i is held in position lto the bottom 23 by a plurality of screws 32, 32 positioned around its marginal edges which overlap the bottom 23. A false bottom member 33 is provided having flanges 34 formed at each of its ends and a flange 35 extending along its rear portion, the flange 35 being spot welded to the -rear wall I of the cabinet.. Along the forward edge of the false bottom 33 which is spaced up- -Ward from the bottom 23 flange .portions 35 and 36 are formed, the portion 33 extending parallel with the forward edge portion of the brace 2'! and is spot welded thereto with the lower door guideway 31 being provided which is fitted into the channel formed by the ange 35 and the inturned end 26 of the bottom 33. The guide- Vway 31 has door receiving channels therein to receive and support the sliding doors 2i and 22 at their lower edges. These doors are placed in offset relation with each other and are of a length approximately one half the length of the cabinet so that they can be moved to open or closed positions as may be desired during the use of the cabinet.

The false bottom 33 has a rectangular shaped elongated opening formed therein which is opthe light fixture will be reected generally in a f; downward and rearward direction through the opening 33 in the bottom 23. The false bottom 33 along therear edge of the marginal opening has a flange 4I thereon from which a horizontal flange 42 extends, the forward edge of the flange -42 being free for purposes hereinafter described.

. The struck out portion 38 at its base has a vertical flange 43 formed thereon upon which a Vhorizontal ange portion 44 is provided, the flangeportion 44 and the ange 42 forming asupport for a glass section 45 vwhich is used as a closure for the false bottom 33. End members l 4S and 47 are provided which have flanges therey on which overlie the top member I4, underlie the bottom member 23, and are fitted against the rear wall I3, these flanges being spot welded to the members with which they are in contact so that a complete closure in cabinet form is provided` The flanges 34, 34 in the false bottom 33 are tted against the end members 46 and 41 and welded thereto thus forming a rigid bottom construction for the cabinet. These end walls overlie the door runways and 3'I and form abutments against which the outer edges of the doors 2i and 22 abut.

Various arrangements of shelving can be provided in the cabinets depending on the purpose for which the cabinet is intended and hooks for cups and the like provided, if it is deemed desirable to do so. This arrangement for receiving means for the articles stored in the cabinet forms no part of the present invention. The shelves may be perforated, if desired, as shown in Figure l, so that light passing through the glass in the false bottom 33 of the cabinet passes upward throughout the interior of the cabinet so that the entire interior of the cabinet may be illumi- -nated and dark corners and shadows eliminated to as great an extent as possible.

The lighting fixture adapted for use in this cabinet is illustrated in Figures 6 to 8 inclusive and includes an elongated casing which is attached to and supported by the bottom wall 23 and false bottom 33 and which is generally rectangular in cross section and yformed of sheet metal having a top wall 48, a rear wall 49 and a second member with a frontwall 50 and a bottom wall 5I having an extension 52 thereon which extends slightly beyond the rear of the back wall 49 and also has elongatedv portions 53 and 54 at each end thereof for attachment to the bottom wall 23.

Ears 55, are provided which are integrally formed along the upper marginal edge of the forward wall 50 and which when the fixture is in position engage over the flange 42, Figure 4, with the rear portion 53 tted against and overlapping 'an edge portion of the bottom' 23 adjacentthe opening 3B with a plurality of screws being provided which pass through the extensions 52, 53, and 54 to secure the lighting xture in position in the space between the bottom 23 of the cabinet and the false bottom 33. The lighting fixture is a fluorescent type provided with tube receiving brackets 55 and 51 with the tube 58 being mounted therein, which tube extends parallel with and directly under the elongated opening in the bottom 23 and the false bottom 33 respectiveiy. A switch 59 is provided with outlet plugs 60, 60 being also provided for electric cords for the operation of electrical units used in the kitchen and the like, if desired.

In normal operation of the cabinet assembly and use of the cabinet the light fixture is installed in position in the space between the false bottom 33 and the bottom 23 with the lugs 55, 55 engaging over the flange 42 and the plate 52 fitted against the underside of the bottom 23 adjacent -the opening 30 with the projecting portions 53 and 54 of the bottom wall5l being fitted against the bottom 23 adjacent the ends of the opening 3B and screws placed through the openings in the marginal edges of the bottom wall 5I and the lighting fixture thereby iirmly fixed in position between the bottoni 23 and the false bottom 33. The glass plate 45 is dropped into position so the rays of light passing from the tube 58 pass directiy upward through this glass member 45 into the interior of the cabinet thereby illuminating it and other rays of light pass downward through the opening 30 illuminating a sink, table, stove or the like below the cabinet while the rays of light striking against the angular face 39 are directed upward into the interior of the cabinet and other rays striking against the inclined surface 40 are directed downward and towards the rear of the cabinet assisting in the illumination of substantially all of the space below the cabinet, thereby providing a practical, workable illuminating means both for the working surface below the cabinet and to the interior of the cabinet.

If for any reason repair of the light unit should be required, it can be removed by reversing the operation herein described and taken ont for repair services to an electric shop, if desired without the necessity of removing the cabinet from its position on the wall, as well as removing the contents thereof, all of which causes trouble and inconvenience to the user.

While I have described more or less precisely the details of construction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I contemplate changes in form and the proportion of parts and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or render expedient without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A wall cabinet comprising in combination a back wall, end members, a fixed top member, closure members at the front of the cabinet, a bottom member having an elongated opening therein, a false bottom spaced from the said bottom member having an opening therein in substantial register with the opening in the bottom member and a lighting fixture positioned between the bottom member and the false bottom adjacent the openings in each of said members, secured at its bottom portion to the said bottom member and at its top to the said false bottom and a reflector .Y

within the cabinet adjacent the said lighting xture, and presenting two angularly disposed faces spaced from the light in the lighting xture the faces of the reflector being, angularly disposed both with respect to the iight ixture and the openings in both the false bottom and the bottom of the cabinet whereby rays of light from the lighting xture are directed upward into the cab-- inet and downward below the said cabinet.

, 2. A wall cabinet comprising in combination a back wall, end members, a top member secured to said back wall at one of its edges and to said end members, closure members at the front of the cabinet, a bottom member having an elongated opening therein, a false bottom spaced from the said bottom member having an opening therein in substantial register with the opening in the bottom member and a lighting fixture positioned between the bottom member and the false bottom adjacent the openings in each of said members, secured at its bottom portion to the said bottom member and at its top to the said false bottom and a reflector within the Wall cabinet adjacent the said lighting xture having a plurality of faces angularly disposed to a vertical plane whereby rays of light from the lighting xture striking the said reflector are directed up wardly and to the rear of the\said cabinet and downward and rearwardly below the said cabinet.

CHARLES S. MOTTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the i'le oi this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS James Aug. 15, 1944 

